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Due to its insensitivity to light intensity and the capability to capture multidimensional information, polarimetric imaging technology has been proven to have advantages over traditional intensity-based imaging techniques for object detection tasks in adverse environmental conditions, particularly in road traffic scenarios. Recently, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, deep learning (DL)-powered object detection techniques can further enhance recognition accuracy and algorithm robustness. This improvement is made possible by the ability of DL technology to leverage large datasets and extract deeper levels of target-specific features. However, constructing large-scale polarimetric datasets poses challenges as obtaining polarimetric information requires multiple captures of intensity images. In other words, the workload is several times higher compared to traditional imaging techniques. To address the current scarcity of polarimetric datasets and evaluate the practical performance of various algorithms on polarimetric datasets, this paper proposes a Polarimetric Object Detection Benchmark (PODB) dataset. The PODB provides an integrated quality evaluation framework for DL-based object detection algorithms in complex road scenes by incorporating polarimetric imaging. Besides, we conducted extensive object detection experiments using the PODB, which allowed for a comprehensive validation and performance evaluation of effective benchmark algorithms. Furthermore, a physics-based multi-scale image fusion cascaded object detection neural network model is proposed. By combining the multidimensional information provided by polarized images with an adaptive learning multi-decision object detection neural network model, the recognition accuracy of complex road scenes in adverse weather conditions has been improved by approximately 10%. Additionally, we anticipate that PODB will serve as an effective platform for evaluating and comparing the performance of object detection algorithms, as well as providing researchers with a baseline for future studies in developing new DL-based methods. • Polarimetric imaging excels in challenging conditions, like road traffic. • Scarce polarimetric road data due to acquisition difficulties. • Proposed Polarimetric Object Detection Benchmark dataset for deep learning-based algorithms. • Introduction of a novel multi-scale image fusion cascaded neural network model. • Achieving a 10% accuracy boost for complex, adverse weather road scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An in-depth understanding of uncertainty is the first step to making effective decisions under uncertainty. Machine/deep learning (ML/DL) has been hugely leveraged to solve complex problems involved with processing high-dimensional data. However, reasoning and quantifying different uncertainties to achieve effective decision-making have been much less explored in ML/DL than in other Artificial Intelligence (AI) domains. In particular, belief/evidence theories have been studied in Knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR) since the 1960s to reason and measure uncertainties to enhance decision-making effectiveness. Based on our in-depth literature review, only a few studies have leveraged mature uncertainty research in belief/evidence theories in ML/DL to tackle complex problems under different types of uncertainty. Our present survey paper discusses major belief theories and their core ideas dealing with uncertainty causes and types and quantifying them, along with the discussions of their applicability in ML/DL. Particularly, we discuss three main approaches leveraging belief theories in Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), including Evidential DNNs, Fuzzy DNNs, and Rough DNNs, in terms of their uncertainty causes, types, and quantification methods along with their applicability in diverse problem domains. Through an in-depth understanding of the extensive survey on this topic, we discuss insights, lessons learned, limitations of the current state-of-the-art bridging belief theories and ML/DL, and future research directions. This paper conducts an extensive survey by bridging belief theories and deep learning in reasoning and quantifying uncertainty to help researchers initiate uncertainty and decision-making research. • Identifying the causes and types of uncertainty in various belief models. • Uncertainty reasoning and quantification of belief models for decision-making. • Applying uncertainty quantification of belief models into deep learning. • Comparing uncertainty consideration in belief models and deep learning. • Insights, lessons learned, limitations, and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robustness has become an important consideration in deep learning. With the help of explainable AI, mismatches between an explained model's decision strategy and the user's domain knowledge (e.g. Clever Hans effects) have been identified as a starting point for improving faulty models. However, it is less clear what to do when the user and the explanation agree. In this paper, we demonstrate that acceptance of explanations by the user is not a guarantee for a machine learning model to be robust against Clever Hans effects, which may remain undetected. Such hidden flaws of the model can nevertheless be mitigated, and we demonstrate this by contributing a new method, Explanation-Guided Exposure Minimization (EGEM), that preemptively prunes variations in the ML model that have not been the subject of positive explanation feedback. Experiments demonstrate that our approach leads to models that strongly reduce their reliance on hidden Clever Hans strategies, and consequently achieve higher accuracy on new data. • Explainable AI may not detect all Clever Hans effects in practical ML scenarios. • Hidden Clever Hans effects can be mitigated using Exposure Minimization. • We propose a solution in the form of a soft-pruning scheme on network activations. • We demonstrate the practical benefits of our approach on image and text data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]